Stop limiting God

 BY Argie Simonis

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built?" 1Kings 8:27

How can the finite (limited) man adequately represent an infinite (unlimited) God? This is an issue that prevents most people from even trying.

We all have in the inside of us an image of ourselves, of who we are and what we can do. The devil and tribulations in life try to extinguish our hopes and dreams, and unfortunately many times they do a very good job. God has given each one of us things for our own blessing, but also things intended for others.

If we do not make full use of our potential, then these people will not receive the miracles intended for them.

So this image we have of ourselves works as a roof, as a limit to what we can do. If you see yourself as nothing special, then that's how you will you be in your life. But God did not create us like this:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

The Lord had a plan for our lives from the beginning. We are made for great and wonderful things!

Here, of course, a clarification must be made that the great and wonderful according to the world and according to God are two different things:

"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is." 1Cor. 3:13

Here Paul tells us that everyone's works will be tested for its kind and not for its size. We are not all destined to do something that will catch the attention of the whole world, but we are all called to "shake" the waters in our own world, that is, in the environment of our influence. There are many more things in life than making a living, building a family, growing old, and living our lives with Jesus.

We must leave our own "stamp" on our world as we go through it and when the time comes for us to go and be with the Lord, people will miss us because in one way or 

another we influenced them with our lives.

One of the biggest obstacles that prevents God from doing things in our lives is comparing ourselves to the wrong people:

"...but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." 2Cor. 10:12

This does not mean that we can not be inspired by what God does to others. What Paul means here is that we should not judge things according to the flesh. Paul rebuked the Corinthians in the first part of this chapter because they judged him on the basis of outward appearance. Paul did not allow his human weaknesses to diminish what God could do through him and he literally changed the world. Two thousand years later we are still talking about him, and most importantly, we are still building ourselves on the revelations the Lord gave him, who wrote half the books of the New Testament.

You can not see anything in the outside, if you do not first "see" it internally, inside you. You may be praying for the restoration of a relationship, for healing, or for financial prosperity, but you must study and focus on the Word of God, renew your mind, and allow the Word to "paint" the right image within you, so that "see" yourself healed, healthy and prosperous. You may not like it, but your life today is exactly as you see it:

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." Prov. 23:7

We tend to place our responsibilities elsewhere, for example on our origins, on the various shortcomings or traumatic experiences we may have had in our lives, on the mistakes of our parents or spouse, etc. We can find many excuses like that, but none of these factors can control our lives. Decisions are made by us and the way we think in our hearts determines the course we will follow in our lives.

It is difficult to swim against the current and many times we are tempted to follow the easy solution. But we must have a purpose in life, something greater than ourselves.

Fire is nice and always attracts people near it because it offers light and warmth. So if you become a fire for the Lord, be sure that the world will be attracted and will come to see you. Do not be afraid to try something different. If you try to do something, you will eventualy succeed in something. But if you stay idle, then you will definitely not achieve anything. Get out of the boat, otherwise you will drown with the others.

"Why be you not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." Eph. 5:17

The Lord wants to reveal His will to you more than you want Him to. Do not limit what you believe God can do through you. Do not judge yourself solely on the basis of your physical abilities. As His born-again child you are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil. 4:13).

One of the best ways God reveals His will to you as you seek Him and focus on Him is through the desires He puts in your heart:

"Delight yourself also in the LORD: and he shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

What do you really want to do? If money, age, origin, or location were not an obstacle, what would you really like to do? What do you really have in your heart? If you are close to the Lord and enjoy His presence and your relationship with Him, then this desire you have is from God. It does not mean that you just take a  a step and arrive. It is a marathon and not a sprint. But step by step and with God's help, before you know it you will have already moved from where you are now and you will be much closer to where God wants you to be.

I encourage you to stop limiting what God can do in your life. Give Him something to work with you. He can bless only what you put your hand on:

"The LORD shall command the blessing on you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand to; and he shall bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you."  Deut. 28:8

Amen?

JESUS The Miracle of Christmas

 BY Argie Simonis

Christmas is getting closer! Days of joy and celebration for many. Gifts under the tree, lights and decorations at home, Christmas cards, turkey and other traditional foods, family and friends gather at home, snow in the yard (sometimes), and wishes for a Merry Christmas are heard everywhere.

All this is nice and it is an opportunity for all of us to celebrate and enjoy these days. But is this the real meaning of Christmas?

It is good to remember that for some people it is a time of sorrow. Maybe because they do not have the extra money to buy gifts for their children, family or friends. Many people get sad at Christmas when they think that their loved ones, for various reasons, can not be with them. Rich tables and turkeys may seem like an elusive dream to some.

Nevertheless, Christmas is a time of great joy, because God shows us His infinite love. It is a time of healing and renewed strength.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of our Jesus. God sent His Son into the world to be born humbly in a manger. It is this fact that has brought so much joy to the world. The shepherds, the wise men and the whole army of angels who took part in this celebration knew that this was no ordinary baby. There have been prophecies about the birth of Jesus hundreds of years before.

More than 300 prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus. Many of them at His birth. Professor Peter W. Stoner was Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College and Chairman of the science division at Westmont College. In his book, Science Speaks, Professor Stoner outlines the mathematical probability of one person in the first century fulfilling just eight of the most clear and straightforward Messianic prophecies. In his book he quotes:

"We find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power (1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000)!!!."

How amazing is that! And of course, if we consider all 300+ prophecies the number gets more astronomical.

Here are some of them:

"But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Reading the story of Jesus' birth in Luke 2:4-19, we may wonder:

So why did Jesus come?

The peace that the heavenly host sang for was not peace between men, but peace between God and men.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34

The angels rejoiced that the war between God and man was over. We celebrate the Savior, because we needed salvation:

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Rom. 3:23

No matter what happens around us, we can really have joy. Let's look at Christmas in a different way this year. It is time to invite the Lord into your heart, and the peace He will give you will last for the whole new year, as you trust Him to provide for your every need!

Amen?

Do miracles happen today?

 BY Argie Simonis 

"And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him." Luke 23:8

Herod wanted to see Jesus perform a miracle, and this can be seen from the questions he asked. However, Jesus did not use His faith to perform miracles for Herod.

Miracles are God's way of meeting the needs of those who seek Him in faith. Miracles will sometimes be used to demonstrate God's ability for people to believe , but they will not happen to skeptics who tempt God . 

Here are two examples:

"But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (he said to the sick of the palsy,)

I say to you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go your way into your house." Mark 2:10-11

"And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If you be the Son of God, cast yourself down from hence:

For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you:

And in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.

And Jesus answering said to him, It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God." Luke 4:9-12

So what is the definition of a miracle?

The miracle is a supernatural intervention of God's power over the natural law.

There is an essential distinction between a miracle and a healing. Healing takes place within the bounds of natural laws, while miracles are not limited to natural laws. A person with a high fever who are prayed over and then begins to recover, experiences a healing. The Lord intervened here, but in natural ways, such as the example of Peter's mother-in-law:

"And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered to them." Luke 4:39

The virus, the infection or anything that caused this fever and was rebuked, left her body and then her immune system took over the natural healing process (as it happens to all of us).

When something completely supernatural happens, it's a miracle:

"And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

And Jesus answered and said, Suffer you thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him." Luke 22:51

It was a miracle when Jesus reattached the servant's ear after Peter had previously cut it off. It was also a healing, but it was a miraculous healing.

The feeding of the five thousand (Matt. 14:19-20), the walking on the water (Matt. 14:25), the transportation of the ship and all its passengers from one end of the sea to the other (John 6:21), all these are miracles. Miracles are usually instantaneous, while healings are sometimes gradual.

Are miracles happening today?

"And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." Mark 16:20

The Lord miraculously confirmed the preaching of His Word. If Jesus and the Christians of the first century needed the Word that was miraculously confirmed, how much more do we need it:

"God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?" Hebrews 2:4

The Lord never had anyone who met the necessary "qualifications" to serve Him. He uses available vessels,  not "perfect" vessels, because none of us is perfect.

It is by His Grace that He uses any of us for His Kingdom. Anyone who claims to be used by God because of his great holiness is highly deceived. It is our faith in the Grace of God that allows miracles to flow through us.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me..." Gal. 2:20 

Amen?

The Gospel of peace

 BY Argie Simonis 

"And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" Eph 6:15

The Gospel of peace mentioned here is not about peace between mankind. Peace between men is the fruit of the peace that Jesus Christ restored between God and men:

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" Romans 5:1

Peace can only come when our relationship with God is based on our faith in what He has done for us and not in what we do for Him. Anyone who believes that he must meet certain standards in order to be accepted by God will never have peace. This kind of attitude puts the weight of salvation on our shoulders and is a burden we can not carry.

It is humanly impossible to live holy enough to please God either before we are saved or after we are saved. We were saved by grace through faith. Failure to understand this truth has led many God-loving Christians not to enjoy the peace that comes to them through faith in Jesus.

This is the Gospel of peace that Paul "paints" so beautifully in his letters and that we are called to spread to the ends of the earth!

A Savior was born for us

 BY Argie Simonis 

"For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

Jesus was Lord at His birth although His physical body was small and totally dependent on others. His physical body grew and had to learn to talk, walk, eat, etc. 

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52

But in spirit, he was God from His birth and possessed all knowledge. His physical mind had to learn not only how to speak and walk, but also that He was the Messiah.

Two of Satan's three temptations in the wilderness began with "If thou be the Son of God." Satan was trying to make Jesus doubt who He was (Matthew 4:3,6 and Luke 4:3). It took a great deal of faith on the part of Jesus to accept that he was the Son of God.

If our Lord Himself went through this process, imagine how much more we must stay focused to the One who said:

"The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do" John 5:19

Amen?

Christmas begins with Christ!

 BY Argie Simonis 

Christmas is coming. It is a holiday celebrated by all Christians around the world. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, which marked the whole History, even the year itself, since the calendar is divided into an era BC (before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini= In the year of the Lord).

Why do we celebrate Christmas? What makes Christmas one of the most important holidays in Christianity?

"And the angel said to them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

And this shall be a sign to you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:10-14

The peace that the heavenly host sang for was not peace between men, but peace between God and men.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34

The angels rejoiced that the war between God and man was over.

More than 300 prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus. Many of them at His birth:

"But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Emmanuel = God with us

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14

- We celebrate the Savior, because we needed salvation.

- We celebrate Christmas with gift-giving because of the “indescribable gift” that God gave to us

"Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift." 2Cor. 9:15

- We celebrate Christmas with festive lights because the Light of the world has come to us

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men." John 1:4

"Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12

- We celebrate Christmas with carols and choirs because they are expressive of joy and follow the examples of Mary and Zacharias and Simeon and the angels, all of whom extoled the Lord.

- We celebrate Christmas by decorating evergreen trees with stars and angels and tinsel because of the eternal life Jesus brings (John 4:14)—and stars and angels and beauty were all associated with Jesus’ birth.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve fell, dragging all mankind with them into the darkness and death of sin. And what did God do? He did not tell us to find our own way out of the chaos we were in. He went down to where we were and picked us up. This is the meaning of Christmas — God comes down to save us, to do whatever it takes to save us from certain death.

We celebrate Christmas because it was at Christmastime that the Savior of all mankind came to save us from the hopeless situation we were in. God did not stay in heaven; He came down to where we are so we can be with Him in eternity!

God on the stand of the accused

 BY Argie Simonis 

"God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him." 1John 4:16

John here describes God beautifully and simply. But religion unfortunately comes and presents us with an angry and vengeful God. He only accepts you when you are a "good" child and waits in the corner to strike you with a lightning bolt on the first mistake you will make.

Religion presents a child-killing God, who takes babies and toddlers to Heaven because he "needs" them there more than their natural parents here on earth.

Religion presents a God who sends sickness and tribulations to His children to "teach" them humility and obedience.

Religion presents a God who is responsible for every war, famine, earthquake, disaster and every evil that happens in the world, because nothing happens if He does not "allow" it.

How is it possible to love and trust someone who treats you like that? In a court of law, if such a God ascends to the stand of the accused, I am sure he would be sentenced to life imprisonment as a common criminal, or even to death!

So let us not be surprised that many people reject the Lord and do not want to have anything to do with Him. All this distorted image of God presented to us by religion is far away from reality, and as a result it turns people away from Him instead of attracting them to Him.

Let's read the following passage from 1 Corinthians, and where the word "love" is(according to 1 John 4:16) we put "God":

"God suffers long, and is kind; charity envies not; God braggs not Himself, is not puffed up,

Does not behave Himself unseemly, seeks not His own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;

Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1Cor. 13:4-7

One of the greatest truths of the Gospel that will change your life is to understand that God loves you just as you are.

He loves you so much that if you understand it, you will not want to stay as you are. You will begin to change, not to gain His love, but this change will be the fruit of His love that works within you.

The nature of God has always been love.

Amen;

Can salvation be lost?

 BY Argie Simonis 

There are five conditions that one must meet in order to fall outside of Divine Grace, or else fall away of one's salvation:

"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

If they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Hebrews 6:4-6

Let's take a closer look:

1. They must be enlightened. Here it speaks of the Holy Spirit revealing Jesus to us (John 6:44 and 65).

2. They must have tasted the heavenly gift. I believe this speaks of the gift of salvation:

"For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" Eph. 2:8

In other words, unsaved people cannot "lose" what they never had. There must be a supernatural conversion, not just a religious exercise.

3. They must have become partakers of the Holy Spirit. This speaks of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. People who have not received the Holy Spirit cannot "fall away" (Hebrews 6: 6).

4. They must have tasted the good Word of God. I believe this speaks of revealed knowledge from the Word of God. Not just intellectual knowledge, but the knowledge that God supernaturally reveals the truth from His Word.

5. "powers of the world to come". Here it is obviously talking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and supernatural power (1 Corinthians 12: 5-11). It speaks of those who have worked in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and have seen the power of God manifested through them.

These five conditions basically describe mature Christians, something the author urged  readers to do earlier in this letter (Hebrews 5: 11-13).

The author said that immature Christians could not reject their salvation. They are like the minors in our society who would like to give up their families. Because children lack maturity, they often do not know what to say. For example, many children have been upset and said that they wish they were not children of their parents, but belonged to someone else. But they are not legally charged. But if they did the same as adults, the law would support them.

Likewise, these verses say that immature Christians will not be held accountable for blasphemy against God. Indeed, the Apostle Paul said that he was forgiven for blasphemy because he did it "in ignorance and in unbelief" (1 Timothy 1:13).

Verse 6 clearly states that once people deliberately reject the Lord and have enough maturity to know what they are doing, as described in verses 4-5, it is impossible for them to be saved again. There is no longer any sacrifice for their sins. Jesus have dealed with their sins once. And if they reject this, He will not die again for their sins.

These verses do not teach the loss of salvation every time we sin and that every time we must repent and return to the grace of God. They declare just the opposite. If people deny their salvation, they can never recover from it.

So if you are worried that you have "lost" your salvation, be sure that this has not happened, because the Spirit of God continues to bear witness within you about Him. People who reject their salvation, means that they have already seared their conscience (1 Tim. 4: 2) and the Lord leaves them alone, stops convicting them, delivering them to a rebrobate mind (Rom. 1:28).  There is nothing worse than having the living God leave you alone to your own fate! But He will never force you to spend an eternity with Him against your will.

God provides more than enough

 BY Argie Simonis 

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" 2Cor. 9:8

This verse completely disproves the idea that God only wants to provide us with our bare necessities.

Those who argue against prosperity with the excuse of false humility, always cite the examples of those who have gathered riches to consume in their own lusts. They use these negative examples to point out that the rich are selfish and corrupt, and then oppose prosperity on the grounds of greed.

However, this is not God's purpose for giving us wealth:

"But you shall remember the LORD your God: for it is he that gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day." Deuteronomy 8:18

As this verse states, the Lord gives us wealth to establish His covenant and to help others. The spread of the Gospel costs us both in personal struggle and money.

The purpose of God's prosperity in our lives is to enable us to be a blessing to others. Before we can be a blessing, we must be blessed (Genesis 12: 2). If we are not selfish and greedy with our wealth, then wealth can be a wonderful tool in our hands. Money is not bad. But the love for money is:

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1Tim. 6:10

The Devil has managed to sow error on this subject in many Christians. First with the impression of false-humility and poverty thinking, that is, that I live poor and humble, and second with the false gospel of prosperity, which promises easy life through the wide path that leads to perdition and not the abundant life through the narrow path that Jesus promises.

Our Lord on the cross became poor so that we could be rich in everything (both in spiritual blessings and in material ones). He took upon Himself the curse of poverty and blessed us with prosperity and abundant life.

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich." 2Cor. 8:9

Make the decision and shake off the yoke of religion that has kept you enslaved for so many years. Believe in His promises which are "Yes and Amen" and do not let the situations and temporary sorrows you experience take your eyes away from Him.

Amen?

Thanatophobia: A tool for manipulating people

BY Argie Simonis 

I did not know until recently that the term "thanatophobia" existed which is in fact a medical term and is defined as follows:

Death anxiety (thanatophobia) is the stress caused by the thoughts of death. This anxiety is defined as a "feeling of fear, stress or anxiety when one thinks about the process of death, or the cessation of existence." ~ source Wikipedia

I think this definition is quite comprehensive and informative. I will address two key issues:

1. What causes this fear and anxiety?

2. Fear becomes a tool for manipulating entire nations.

- Fear of the unknown

This is the "dark room" syndrome. You are scared when you are in a dark room without light, because you can not see what is around you, but as soon as you turn on the light the fear goes away because you can see.

- Fear of losing control.

As long as you live you are in control of your life, but when physical death comes things change.

- Fear for those we leave behind.

With physical death, we will be separated from our loved ones on Earth for a while. If they are also Christians, we know that separation will be like a brief blink of an eye compared to the eternity we will spend with them in Paradise.

- Fear of the process of death.

No one knows how he will die. Quick and painless death in his sleep?

A prolonged illness can be frightening. If you know for example that you are diagnosed with a terminal disease, it can be just as frightening.

In the hands of people in power and authority who have neither fear of God nor morality, the fear of death can become a weapon of manipulation of entire nations. Every day we see that most of the campaigns and discussions in the media have the following as their main topic:

"Stay at home because if you go out you will get sick and die.

You must get the vaccine I am giving you so that you do not die."

As you understand, if you listen to this every day and all day, you will become obsessed and psychotic, and fear will become your daily torment. And that's good enough for these "experts" to have a submissive and slavish society. So how do we deal with this?

Even if all of the above are true, death is only for a moment. A moment we will eventually all go through. And when this moment is over, we can claim what the apostle Paul says:

"For our conversation is in heaven; from where also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like to Ηis glorious body, according to the working whereby Ηe is able even to subdue all things to Ηimself." Phil. 3:20-21

See also what Paul says earlier in the same letter:

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Phil. 1:21

The fear of death forces people to compromise their beliefs and leads them into slavery (Hebrews 2:15). The understanding that death leads the believer to a state that is infinitely better than life here on earth erases all fear and allows believers to act according to the Lord's instructions, regardless of the consequences. Death is not the end. It is only the beginning for those who believe in Christ. With physical death you do not cease to exist. You just change residence:

"Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 2Cor. 5:6-8

The worldwide spread of the fear of death enslaves humanity, which leads to living in miserable situations instead of facing death. Only Christians who truly understand that the sting of death has been removed (1 Cor. 15: 55-57) are free from the torment of the fear of death (1 John 4:18). A person who is no longer afraid of death can neither be intimidated nor manipulated. And this can only be done with the knowledge that comes from the study of the Word of God.

FORGIVENESS - The Superpower That Breaks Bondage

 BY Argie Simonis 

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus said to him, I say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." Mat. 18:21-22

Peter thought it was generous enough to forgive someone 7 times, but Jesus raised the bar much higher, to 490 times! Of course, what he meant was that forgiveness has no limit and we must constantly walk with a heart of forgiveness. Some may not receive it, but we as Christians must always be willing to offer it.

By studying the parable of Jesus with the king, who wanted to examine his accounts with his slaves (Matt. 18: 23-35) we can find many lessons on the subject of forgiveness.

In those days you could not file for bankruptcy as is the case today. If you could not pay your debt, they sold your wife and children and all your belongings, and you ended up either a slave or in prison. And if your possessions were not enough to cover the debt, you would stay in jail for the rest of your life.

So when the king discovered the debt of his servant, he did the only thing left to him:

"The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all." Mat. 18:26

Look at the King's reaction:

"Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt." Mat. 18:27

The debt owed by the servant was 10,000 talents. According to a study I did, at today's value that would equal to about 6.5 billion euros! As you can see, it was impossible to pay such a debt, so he forgave him his debt.

We owed a similar debt: The debt of our sin, which was paid in full with the blood of our Lord.

There is also a serious warning in the parable. We see that the servant, despite being forgiven such a large debt, on his part did not forgive the small debt of his fellow servant. When we hold on unforgiveness we surrender to the tormenters (Mat.18:34). In other words, we allow the devil to come with all kinds of evil in our lives. Depression, fear, sickness, poverty and much more.

Forgiveness is a decision and not an emotion!

"And if he trespass against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him. 

And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith." Luke 17:4-5

Something very interesting is happening here. As soon as Jesus speaks of forgiveness, His disciples ask Him to increase their faith. They had witnessed so many wonderful miracles that the Lord performed before them, and yet this never inspired them to ask for more faith.

Truly, walking in love and forgiveness with one another requires faith! Unforgiveness does not hurt the other. It hurts you who hold on it. It's like drinking poison to hurt someone else. Make the right decision and the Lord will help you to walk in it.

Resolving disputes with others Biblically -Church discipline

 BY Argie Simonis 

The Lord gives us a very nice guide to resolving disputes or disagreements with others, but it is rarely followed. 

"Moreover if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone: if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother.

But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be to you as an heathen man and a publican." Mat.18:15-17

The first step, given in verse 15, is to go directly to those with whom we have the problem. But instead we often go to others to complain. Thus, we become a tool in the hands of the devil to spread the insult and infect others with this conflict:

"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." James 3:16

In case the first step does not work out, it is wise to take with us two other people who can be objective, who will listen to both sides of the issue and end up with an impartial judgment.

If this does not resolve the conflict or bring the individual to repentance, then the problem must be brought before the whole church. This group pressure is very effective, especially if the person being disciplined truly loves and respects others in the church.

If there is still no repentance, then the last step is for the whole church to treat the person who is in disobedience as a person who is in the world away from God. This does not mean that we should stop loving it. We are called to love all people. This means that we do not fellowship with them (1 Corinthians 5: 9-11 and 2 Thessalonians 3: 14-15) so that the person is ashamed and repents.

Paul also instructs us on the last step we can take, when the individual continues to be in rebellion in front of the whole Church:

"To deliver such an one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." 1 Cor. 5:5

The surrender of this man to Satan for the destruction of his flesh was the last step in church discipline. There are two other men whom Paul handed over to Satan for this purpose (1 Timothy 1:20).

Here, our intercession on behalf of others is clearly withdrawn, that is, for their protection, in order to preserve their sins in them. This means that they begin to reap what they have sown because we do not cancel Satan's activities through our prayers.

Surrendering people to Satan does not mean condemning them to hell, nor does it mean that they will die physically. It is something that must not be done lightely and the sole purpose of this is to bring them back to their senses.

Paul explains to us that this practice has to do with discipline within the Church and in order to have an effect it must be done with the participation of all. In the end, however, the Church embraces again and comforts the person that repents:

"Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise you ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Why I beseech you that you would confirm your love toward him." 2Cor 2:6-8

This is, after all, the ultimate goal of this practice. To bring a person to repentance.

The only individual example mentioned in the Bible is in 1 Tim. 1:20, where Paul does this to Hymenaeus and Alexander "that they may learn not to blaspheme."

All this church discipline depends on whether the church is a church that prays, loves and is healthy. If in a church there is no love between its members, the withdrawal of fellowship is of no use. A person will not miss something that never existed in the first place. 

Also, withdrawing our intercession from a brother or sister, as when we hand him over to satan, is of no use, if we have not prayed for that person from the beginning.

In the end, love and forgiveness prevail!

Intercession and other types of prayer

 BY Argie Simonis  

There are different types of prayer, depending on their purpose:

1. Praise and Worship.

This prayer acknowledges God for what he is by showing the love, respect, and admiration we have for Him. A very good picture of such prayers is found throughout the Bible and especially in the Book of Psalms of David.

2. Supplication

This kind of prayer is to ask the Lord for something, with sincerity and humility:

Moses asked to see the glory of God (Exodus 33:18)

Hannah asked for a son (1 Samuel 1:11)

Hezekiah asked God to extend his life (2 Kings 20: 1-3)

Esther asks for the release of the Jews (Esther 4: 15-16)

Jesus asked for power on the cross and power for the faithful (John 17)

3. Thanksgiving

This is when we express gratitude for having food, shelter, family, friends, work, health, victories, and all the goods the Lord offers us. This kind of prayer Paul urges us to do constantly, regardless of the circumstances around us:

"Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1Thes. 5:17-18

"Giving thanks always for all things to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" Eph. 5:20

I leave this for last (but not least) because I want to talk a little more extensively:

4. Intercession prayer - Spiritual Warfare

This prayer is for others, where with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we pray for the needs of other people who seek our support and agreement, because  prayer in agreement and unity has power:

"Again I say to you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." Μat. 18:19

This prayer is also directed for people who either do not know how to pray or for some reason can not pray themselves. In addition, the prophetic prayer is included, where the Holy Spirit gives us words of knowledge and words of wisdom to pray for people in need and have not set it as a request.

Intercession prayer is directly related to spiritual warfare. In spiritual warfare we engage in battles within ourselves and others and use the power and authority given to us. We speak protection against ourselves and others from demonic attacks, we cancel satan's plans, we speak the blessings of God upon our lives, we speak life upon ourselves and death in everything hostile that comes against us or against others.

We rebuke and silence the spirits of deception, fear, lies, etc. that attack us or others, so that the truth of the Gospel may shine and people may come to the awareness of the truth.

To enter into such a prayer you must acknowledge and believe that the Lord has given you authority:

"Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19

"For truly I say to you, That whoever shall say to this mountain, Be you removed, and be you cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass; he shall have whatever he said. Therefore I say to you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them." Mark 11:23-24

"Truly I say to you, Whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Μat. 18:18

"No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house." Mark 3:27

I will close with this. We have been empowered by God to be tools in His hands, and the closer we come to the Lord, the more the power of our prayer and the power of our words is revealed within us, and the more miracles we will experience in our lives. I wish the Lord's Spirit of Truth and Revelation to enlighten us all.

Do we pray to saints?

  BY Argie Simonis  

I'm going to touch on some sensitive chords now, but I hope you read with an open mind. It is not bad to ask for prayers from brethren in Christ, which Paul in most of his letters begins with the greeting "I greet the saints of the church ..." . In fact we follow the example of Paul, where he asks for the prayers of the faithful (= saints) so that:

"And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel," Εph. 6:19

"Brothers, pray for us." 1Thes. 5:25

"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:" 2Thes. 3:1

These are just a few examples. There are many more. What we need to understand is the spirit in which we pray or ask for prayers from others. We do not do it because we feel guilty about something we did and believe that God will not hear our prayer, or that the sin we committed creates a barrier in heaven and our prayers are not heard.

"He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?" Psalm 94:9

Let us not forget that our prayers do not need to go even through  the roof of our house to reach the Lord, since His Spirit lives in us! (John 14:16; 1 Cor. 6:19)

And this is also important:

Paul and no other apostle or disciple of the Lord ever asked prayers from saints that have slept, but only from the living. Those saints who gave their lives for the Lord and slept are now in the presence of the Lord, and have no knowledge of what is happening on earth. (Luke 16:19-31 Heb. 12: 1 Rev. 6:10)

In the example of King Saul (1 Samuel 28) who tried to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel, we see him using a witch to do necromancy, something strictly forbidden by the Lord. We need to be very careful in this, because many times in our despair we ask for help and "mediation" from saints that have slept without knowing the real dangers laying behind that.

In fact, what happens in such invocations is to communicate with demonic spirits whose mission was to cling to these people while they were alive, and to know every detail of their lives. That is why these demonic spirits can surprise you with the knowledge they have and even imitate the person you think is in front of you.

It is important to honor the memory of our saints that have slept and to set an example by their pious lives, but we must not cross the fine line between honouring and worshiping. They are worthy of honor, but our worship belongs exclusively to the only true God and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen?

Supernatural world - A timeless reality.

 BY Argie Simonis  

"The supernatural encompasses supposed phenomena or entities that are not subject to the laws of nature.[1] This term is attributed to non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods, and spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including magic, telekinesis, levitation, precognition, and extrasensory perception." - Source: Wikipedia

With such a definition of the supernatural, I do not wonder about the great impact of its expression in today's society. And I think this is done for two reasons:

1. The political world has disapointed and continues to disapoint people by failing to provide satisfactory solutions to basic human needs such as survival, respect and improvement of life, 

and

2. Unfortunately, the failure of the Church to give satisfactory answers to vital questions (especially of the youth) concerning the 5 basic questions of life:

- Who am I? A Question of Identity. 

- Where do I come from? A question of Origin. 

- What Can I do? A Question of Potential. 

- Why am I here? A Question of Purpose.

- Where Am I going? A Question of Destiny.

And also the failure of the Church to properly represent the Eternal God and His true nature, which is purely supernatural, has turned many people to other, extremely dangerous paths.

God created man and "planted" in him the knowledge of His existence, which always pushes man in the search of Him:

"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it to them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" Rom. 1:19-20

According to what Paul writes here, the existence of God has been revealed to all (at a heart level). Some accepted Him and some rejected Him.

It is an oxymoron that technology, despite its tremendous development, especially in the field of communication, has created a distant and isolated society. Personal communication has changed (for the most part) into faceless dialogues via emojis.

The misinformation by the media, which promotes standards and values that are far away from the teaching of the Bible and the daily bombardment with bad news (Matt. 24: 6-13), have created a virtual reality of a world where either God is a human invention, so there is no room for Him, or God is responsible for all our problems, so we reject Him and seek comfort in other arms.

This is the reason why all these metaphysical doctrines and theories on the supernatural have become so popular and are constantly gaining ground, especially among the youth.

The supernatural world is reality and we should not deal with it lightly. Believe it or not, angels and demons exist:

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." Hebrews 11:3

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Eph. 6:12

But there is also a God, whose name is above every name and

"​Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." Col. 2:14-15

Belief in God and in what He says in His Word is clearly a decision based not on our limited intelectual perception, but on

"the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb. 11:1

I trust God because he is faithful, His promises are YES and AMEN (2 Cor. 1:20), and He loved me to death enduring death on the cross (Phil. 2: 8)

So let us leave the foreign arms that promise us many and temporary benefits and let us stick to the embrace of the One who tells us:

"These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Amen!